Patrick Byrne on the Global Reach of U.S. NGOs and Corruption Abroad
As we dive deeper in the latest Breaking Battlegrounds podcast episode, Patrick Byrne discussed what he’s witnessed around the world when it comes to the influence of American NGOs and foreign aid.
Byrne, who has traveled extensively — including more than 50 visits to Lebanon — said the reach of U.S.-backed organizations promoting progressive policies is “enormous.” He described what he’s seen in places like Ukraine, Israel, and Lebanon as “super inefficient, super corrupt.”
Recalling an encounter in Ukraine, Byrne said that people there told him the U.S. had sent $5 billion in aid, and that $4 billion of it had been stolen. He added that one local mafioso claimed their rival mafia was “in bed” with the U.S. embassy, which he said was still staffed with “Obama-Biden holdovers” in 2018.
Byrne also described similar patterns in other countries, including Afghanistan. When he was in Kabul in 2005, he said there was one neighborhood filled with mansions where NGO workers lived “like the days of the Raj,” driving new Land Rovers and spending their time playing beer pong.
The segment closed with plans to continue the discussion in the next part of the episode, where Byrne would share how he first became involved in working with the U.S. government and diplomatic community.
Transcript
Chuck Warren: Patrick, you’ve been around the world a million times. I think you told me once you’ve been to Lebanon 50 times, it may be more than that since then. How much do you see the influence of American NGOs pushing progressive policies?
Patrick Byrne: It’s enormous. I’ve seen it, Ukraine, Israel, Lebanon, super inefficient. So super inefficient, super corrupt. I was with people in Ukraine, as I mentioned in my book, that they said, you guys have spent, you guys have sent $5 billion to us last year, $4 billion got stolen. And as a combination of one of, it was actually a mafioso telling me this.
Mafiosi was telling me, our rival mafia is in bed with your embassy. Your embassy is still filled with a bunch of Obama-Biden holdovers, Patrick. This was in 2018. And it’s still filled with them. Last year you sent 5 billion. They stole 4 billion. Our rival mafia plus your embassy Obama-Biden crowd. It’s super. Yeah, it’s very normal. They have...
I’ve seen them all over the world where you go to Afghanistan and in Kabul, there’s one little neighborhood that has all the mansions. When I was in Kabul in 2005, it’s all these NGO guys with brand new Land Rovers playing beer pong and staying in their mansions all day. It was crazy. They live like the days of the Raj.
Sam Stone: This, I mean, it’s just insane. We have about a minute left in this segment. We’re going to continue on with Patrick Byrne after this.
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